Upholsterer&#39;s form.



; No. 632,475. Patented Sept. 5, I899.

T. SWAN.

UPHOLSTEBERS FORM.

(Applicltion filed July 1, 1899.)

(No Model.)

WITNESSES lNl ENTOR WWW Attorneys.

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UNITED STATES PATENT GEErcE.

THOMAS SlVAN, OF FLINT, MICHIGAN.

UPHOLSTERERS FORM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 632,475, datedSeptember 5, 1899.

Application filed July 1,1899. Serial No. 722,494. [No model.)

To aZZ 1071/0172 it may concern:

Be itknown that I, THOMAS SWAN, a citizen of the United States, residingat Flint, county of Genesee, State of Michigamhave invented a certainnew and useful Improvement in Upholsterers Forms; and I declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My improved invention relates to upholsterers forms; and it consists inthe various constructions, modifications, and combinations hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation in perspective showing thegeneral arrangement and construction of the form. Fig. 2 is across-section on line so a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents certaindetails. Fig. 3 represents a strip forming a part of the work operatedon. Fig. 4 represents in perspective a holder for grasping and holdingthe material upon a former. Fig. 5 is a modification of the form shownin Fig. at.

In the drawings, A represents a table or bench upon which the former isfixed.

B is a standard containing a universal joint 13.

C is the former proper, which, as is shown in Fig. 2, is attached to thetop of the standard B. The former proper consists of a board 0 ofsubstantially the form shown in Figs. 1 and 3 or of a modified formshown in Fig. 5. The top and edges of this board are armored with aheavy plate of sheet-steel 0 C the object of this armoring being tocompel the clenching of nails used in the process of upholstering. It isobvious that the whole former might be made of a plate of iron of theproper shape and having the requisite depth or thickness at the edges,my object in making its body of wood being to secure lightness. Aroundthe curved edges of the former proper are attached a series of hooks (Z(I, while on the straight edge another set of hooks d d of a differentform is provided. The hooks around the curved edge project upwardly andform what might be termed a skeleton trough for the insertion of a partof the work, which consists of a strip of heavy cardboard, which isshown separately in Fig. 3. The hooks along the straight edge projectover the top surface of the former C, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5. Theseare for the purpose of holding down the base of the work, which is laidupon the former in position to be attached to the edge of the work orthe piece shown in Fig. 3. Upon the under side of the formerI provideclamps E of peculiar construction for the purpose of drawing the edge ofthe work down to the former, and thus making it conform to the shape ofthe same smoothly and without wrinkles. One of these clamps is shown inFig. 4, and as the other is similar it is unnecessary to show more thanone. Each clamp consists, essentially, of a curved strip of steel e,having a serrated edge e, which is adapted to grasp the material to bedrawn over the edge of the former in the manner shown in Fig. 4:. Thestrip 6 is mounted upon a rigid metal loop c and is loosely butnon-detachably fixed to the under side of the former by means of thestaples 6 e through which the sides of the loop 6 pass. At the apex ofthe loop are a cam and lever d, which when turned down, as shown in Fig.4, draw the strip 6 away from the edge, carrying with it the attachedstrip of material F, thereby drawing it tightly around the angles of theformer.

It is obvious that while I have shown a universal ball-and-socket jointB with a clamping 17 many other forms of universal joint might be used,and I do not limit my invention to any particular form.

The mode of operation of this apparatus is as follows: The former beingin any convenient position-say as in Fig. 1the strip shown in Fig. 3 isinserted between hooks cl and the edge of the former and is thus held inposition extending the entire length of the curved portion of theformer. A sheet of backing for the cushion is then laid upon the surfaceof the former, the straight edge coming under the hooks d d. The stripof the proper flexible material is then attached to the sheet of backingby nailing, the strip of flexible material being shown at G in Fig. 1and the nails being shown at g g. The nails penetrating the backing areclenched by coming in contact with the iron plate of the former. Theflexible strip is then forcibly drawn tightly around the edges by meansof a number of clamps like that shown in Fig. 4. The nails are thendriven around the edge of theformer, attaching the flexible strip to thestrip shown in Fig. 3, the nails being clenched against the iron edge ofthe former. While the work is in process of construction, the former maybe tilted into any desirable position or turned in any direction bymeans of the universal joint shown at B. The work of thus forming thebacks and foundations for cushions is thus very largely facilitated.

What I claim is 1. In an upholsterers former, the combination of a metalclenching-plate, and hooks attached thereto to form sockets into whichthe work to be operated upon may be carried, substantially as described.

2. In an upholsterers former, the combination of a metallicclenching-plate mounted upon a universal joint, hooks attached theretosubstantially as described to form sockets to hold the Work to beoperated upon, an ad-'

